Amusing, clever, insightful and as another of my favourite writers David Sedaris concludes on the book's cover: "the best book written by an outsider about America". Somehow, it acheives what I think is a sign of truly great writers; an ability to perfectly encapsulate the indescribable.
" Something at the centre of the American spirit cannot tolerate human insignificance. There can be no defeat, spiritual or temporal. Americans are geared to believe in themselves: and if that is not possible, they must believe in Jesus risen, or Elvis risen, or the president, or sports stars, or movie stars, or a brand of motor vehicle or soft drink, or the United States itself, or any other surrogate for the imperfect self. No other culture is so disinclined to believe in the futility of existence. The cross, the high-five and the facelift all express the same conviction that life is winnable. For the outsider, at first this feels unnaturally positive: but in time the same radical notion takes hold, and he finds himself wondering if the really unnatural thing is to think life lacks meaning and death always wins. He thus regains his innocence and becomes and American in spirit."
There you have it, the paradox of the American psyche explained in a paragraph.
More to go on the reading list: Reappraisals by Tony Judt.
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